This photo taken with a mobile phone shows Wang Fenghua (1st R), general manager of Hubei Tongxin Musical Instrument Co., Ltd., Abraham Wechter (2nd L), and Douglas John Sparkes (2nd R) posing for a group photo at a factory in Songzi, central China's Hubei Province, July 13, 2025. (Photo by Zhao Shuhan/Xinhua)

Songzi, a city in central China's Hubei Province, has rapidly developed into a hub for high-end guitar manufacturing, drawing strong interest from global musical instrument enthusiasts.

Abraham Wechter, an American luthier with over half a century of experience in guitar making, established a workshop in Songzi last year and decided to settle there with his family.

What draws him to the small inland area is Hubei Tongxin Musical Instrument Co., Ltd., a domestic guitar maker. "I've visited guitar workshops in many countries, such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Japan. Tongxin is making the finest guitars I have ever seen and heard that come from workshops this size," said Wechter.

"They are deeply committed to the art of guitar making. They are serious students, and work hard to reach the highest level," he added.

At Tongxin, it takes about three months and more than 200 processes for each high-end, bespoke guitar to be completed by hand. Yet before that, all the instrument woods must have their stress released through natural air-drying for more than five years.

To maintain the best environment for long-term storage and production, Tongxin built China's first full-process humidity and temperature control system, keeping the humidity at around 45 percent and the temperature between 25 and 31 degrees Celsius.

"Wood is a living thing. It can only exert the best acoustic performance in a stable environment," said Wang Fenghua, general manager of Tongxin. "One must feel the wood's strength, hardness, and acoustic characteristics by touch to ensure sonic precision."

The company's strict standards and stable quality of guitar making have earned it a reputation in the global high-end market.

In 2024, Tongxin exported 12,000 guitars to overseas markets, with the factory price of the top models reaching 59,800 yuan (about 8,419 U.S. dollars) per piece, generating an annual output value of 150 million yuan.

Since 2024, over 80 client delegations from a dozen countries, including Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Malaysia and Thailand, have visited and established long-term partnerships with the company.

Douglas John Sparkes, owner of the Auden Musical Instrument Co., Ltd., was among the visitors last year. During the trip, he ordered 3,000 guitars from Tongxin.

"In making guitars, they have an incredible attention to detail. They want everything to be right. It's that commitment that makes them such great people to work with, and helps them make such great products," said the British purchaser.

In recent years, including Tongxin, a total of 11 musical instrument manufacturing enterprises have been established in Songzi's cultural and creative industrial park, from which guitars are now shipped to nearly 20 countries worldwide.

Hubei Eastman Musical Instrument Co., Ltd. is a guitar maker that was founded in Songzi in August. Thanks to the assistance of local officials, it completed the registration of business licenses and other preliminary preparations in just a few days.

"The proactive and door-to-door services provided by the government deeply moved us. We can feel Songzi's determination to develop its guitar industry," said Ke Dehua, general manager of the company.

It is estimated that the 2025 output value of guitars in Songzi will reach 800 million to 1 billion yuan. As the city continues to accelerate the development of its high-end guitar industry, the figure may well hit 2 billion yuan within three years, according to local authorities. 

This photo taken with a mobile phone shows Douglas John Sparkes (L), owner of the Auden Musical Instrument Co., Ltd., checking woods for guitar making at Hubei Tongxin Musical Instrument Co., Ltd. in Songzi, central China's Hubei Province, July 13, 2025. (Photo by Zhao Shuhan/Xinhua)